mtl008 Chapter 241 A Good Deal Comes to Mind
Chapter 241 A Good Deal Comes to Mind
"Miss Tian Er." Rong Yan'er saw Tian Tian as soon as she stepped out of the shop.
Tian Tian looked up from her thoughts, "Rong Yan'er?"
“Miss Tian Er.” Rong Yan’er blushed slightly when she saw Qian Fulai beside Tian Tian. “Master Qian…”
Tian Tian looked at Rong Yan'er's expression suspiciously; what was this girl's reaction...?
Let's look at Qian Fulai again...
Could it be that she still has feelings for Qian Fulai?
Qian Fulai was still wary of the idea of marrying into the family, so he greeted her perfunctorily, "Miss Rong..."
Rong Yan'er turned to the side awkwardly, looking only at Tian Tian, "Second Miss Tian, there's something I want to talk to you about."
With the hot pot restaurant right in front of them, Tian Tian said, "Let's talk inside."
Rong Yan'er followed Tian Tian into the shop, and couldn't help but glance at Qian Fulai again.
"Miss Rong, what is it?" Tian Tian came to the private room on the second floor.
This is Songxi County. She had nowhere to stay when she arrived, so the hot pot restaurant reserved a side room for her and furnished it as a room.
“Miss Tian Er,” Rong Yan’er said with admiration, “I think…the frozen products in your shop are both beautiful and delicious.”
Tian Tian nodded slightly, "That's true."
The colors of fruits and vegetables are either bright red, refreshing green, or yellow...
They are all colors that catch the eye.
As for the taste, needless to say, there are sweet and crunchy ones, and sweet and glutinous ones. They are perfect for quenching thirst in the summer.
"But if you want to eat these frozen foods, you have to come to a teahouse or a hot pot restaurant."
"What if we girls... just want to eat frozen food?"
"Therefore, I think it's possible to open a separate frozen food shop."
"What do you think?"
Tian Tian said, "Of course that's fine."
She just hasn't had time to make arrangements...
“Miss Tian, how about we open a shop together? I’ll provide the shop and the staff, and you can provide the skills,” Rong Yan’er proposed directly.
She looked very excited.
Tian Tian looked at her and found herself somewhat reluctant to refuse her.
"Do you often chat with your girlfriends?"
Rong Yan'er paused for a moment, then answered Tian Tian's question, "Yes, we do get together quite often."
"However, they mostly stay at their own residences and rarely have time to go out for walks."
She sighed, "Actually, we all really want to get out and about."
"But there are few places outside suitable for women to stay..."
"For example, men might have horse ranches, literary institutions..."
"We women don't have that... We can only go for a spring outing and stroll around the lake, which isn't very interesting."
Rong Yan'er's eyes darted around. "If we make the ice cream shop look prettier... well, I think a lot of girls would be willing to come."
"Miss Tian Er, are you willing?"
Tian Tian nodded, "You can give it a try."
"However, if you want to do it, you have to write me a... proposal."
"Write down everything: how to run the shop, how to renovate it, and how to arrange it."
"Then, we'll discuss it further."
Upon hearing this, Rong Yan'er looked troubled. "I...I've never written any kind of project proposal..."
"Just write down what you want to do and draw it out," Tian Tian encouraged her. "Try it first, and we'll discuss it together in two days."
Rong Yan'er bit her lip and nodded solemnly, "Okay."
"Then...then I'll go back and write it now."
*
While Rong Yan'er was scratching her head as she wrote the proposal, Tian Tian was also preparing a proposal for her collaboration with Shen Zhi'an.
Tian Tian wrote more smoothly than Rong Yan'er because she already had many ideas in her mind.
In this era, people who appreciate tea are cultured individuals, that is, scholars.
These people pursue refinement, purity of mind, and elegance.
Therefore, the items in the shop must also have these characteristics.
Take tea-scented spare ribs, for example. If you're at a restaurant like Fu Lai, you can serve them in a large bowl with a lot of pieces. But if you're at a tea-related shop, you can only use a large plate with three or five pieces, garnished with tea leaves, and then add some Zen-inspired plating to the empty spaces on the plate.
That creates a very artistic atmosphere.
It will definitely be highly sought after by scholars.
After two days, a detailed, illustrated project proposal, spanning dozens of pages, was completed...
*
Rong Yan'er looked at the few sheets of paper in her hand, then at the stack in Tian Tian's hand...
I was immediately filled with shame.
"You... wrote these in the last two days?" she asked in astonishment.
Tian Tian casually tossed her project proposal aside and then quickly showed it to Rong Yan'er.
Rong Yan'er felt even more ashamed...
Tian Tian's project plan was neat and tidy, with both diagrams and text...
Hers, though the characters were fairly neat, was covered in ink splatters.
The entire project plan can be summed up in one word: filthy!
Rong Yan'er awkwardly tried to put away her plan, but she was too late.
Tian Tian took it and examined it carefully.
"That's a great idea," she praised.
Although the plan was not well-organized, Rong Yan'er's idea was still quite good.
She envisioned combining milk tea, ice cream, and pastries, and dividing the shop's private rooms into different themes, where people could play games such as "Floating Wine Cups on a Winding Stream," "Passing the Flower with a Drum," "Pitch-pot," and "Soujiku."
But because there are so few things to do in this era, the plan is so thin.
But Tian Tian is different; she has too many things on her mind...
There are so many games that girls can play together, like various board games and card games.
So, Tian Tian started revising her project proposal with Rong Yan'er.
When girls get together, it's basically just...
Shopping, chatting, beauty and skincare, watching movies, eating delicious food, doing crafts, reading books, singing songs...
If they want to keep female customers, they have to make them linger in the shop.
Rong Yan'er rested her chin on her hand, listening attentively to Tian Tian's analysis.
It can also provide Tian Tian with some ideas.
“Chatting...girls can chat anywhere,” she said.
"Shopping, beauty treatments... these don't seem quite right."
Tian Tian nodded in agreement.
Rong Yan'er is right. Shopping and beauty treatments are not really suitable for the dessert shop they want to open.
But the rest...
Watching movies—there are no movies in this era, but you can invite someone to play a tune or sing a traditional opera.
When it comes to food, the desserts in the shop are the real treats.
Do some crafts. Crafts here don't refer to embroidery or clothing making, but rather something more casual, like flower arranging or rope braiding.
Reading books is also an option, as long as you have some storybooks ready.
Singing is also an option.
“But we have so many things to prepare…” Rong Yan’er said with some distress, “It will definitely cost a lot of money, so how do we earn money?”
They just sell ice cream and pastries.
How much can one person eat?
If she stayed in the shop all day and only ate one serving of ice cream or pastry, wouldn't that be a huge waste?
“Then we can sell the side rooms.” Tian Tian understood her concerns.
"Huh?!" Rong Yan'er looked up in surprise, "Selling the side rooms?"
Selling side rooms?
How much is this?
I've never heard of...selling side rooms.
How much does it cost?
Tian Tian explained in detail, "For example, we have a side room here..."
“We can sell by the hour, 20 coins for half an hour, no limit on the number of people, and ice cream and pastries are charged separately.”
"It's alright... The maximum usage time for a private room is two hours, and the total cost is one hundred coins, but you also need to buy one hundred coins worth of ice cream and pastries before you can use it."
"That way, we won't have to worry about them staying too long and us not making any money."
Rong Yan'er couldn't understand it right away. She gestured with her hands on the table and thought for a while before she finally understood.
"Oh...yes, that way you can definitely make money..."
"Miss Tian, you are so clever."
Tian Tian smiled and said, "This is the price of the private room."
"On the first floor, only ice cream and pastries are charged."
Rong Yan'er nodded, "Mm."
"Then go back... and rewrite the plan?" Tian Tian looked up at the confident Rong Yan'er.
Rong Yan'er nodded emphatically, "Okay."
She took back her first plan. "Miss Tian, don't worry, I will write a new plan as soon as possible."
After saying that, she skipped away from the shop.
"Manager Zhu." Tian Tian called Zhu Qian over and handed him her business plan. "Take this and go to Xiushui County. Find Manager Shen and show him this business plan."
"If he's interested in this proposal, then..."
"Please ask him to come to Songxi County to find me."
Zhu Qian looked down at the plan in his hand... he was extremely curious.
“You can look,” Tian Tian said, raising an eyebrow.
Zhu Qian was pleasantly surprised, "Really?"
Tian Tian nodded and reminded him, "However, you should get going first and take your time to look around along the way."
"Yes, Second Miss!" Zhu Qian replied happily.
Tian Tian provided Zhu Qian with a carriage and a coachman, so he carefully read through Tian Tian's plan while in the carriage.
After reading it, he realized just how much trust Tian Tian placed in him.
This business plan not only includes the way the shop is operated and the shop's decoration diagram, but also various tea-flavored dishes with detailed recipes, and even illustrations of how to decorate the serving plates.
It's safe to say that... whoever gets hold of this plan can either sell it for a good price or open a unique tea and snack shop.
Such an important plan... and Miss Tian just gave it to him so casually.
Zhu Qian quickly put the plan in his pocket. He could be casual with the girl, but he couldn't take it lightly.
Upon arriving in Xiushui County, he didn't dare to delay for a moment and went straight to Shen Zhian's estate.
"You...aren't you Master Zhu? What, are you the manager of Miss Narita's second daughter?" The manager of the estate recognized Zhu Qian.
Zhu Qian cupped his hands in a gesture of respect and said, "I started working for Miss Tian a little over a month ago."
Zhuangzi's steward suddenly realized, "Oh, I see. Then Brother Zhu, you are very fortunate."
"Working for Miss Tian Er pays quite well."
Zhu Qian smiled; Tian Tian hadn't mentioned wages to him.
However, he trusted Miss Tian Er. She had said she wouldn't treat him unfairly, and she certainly wouldn't.
"Is Manager Shen at the estate?" Zhu Qian asked.
"Yes, yes." Manager Zhuang led Zhu Qian inside. "I'll take you to the front hall to wait. I'll inform the manager, and he'll definitely see you."
The steward was so certain, because the master was always the most proactive whenever it concerned Miss Tian Er.
This time is no exception.
As soon as the steward told Shen Zhian, Shen Zhian immediately went to the front hall.
"I never imagined you'd be working for Tian Yatou now," Shen Zhian remarked with a touch of surprise.
"Did Tian send you here for something?" he asked.
Zhu Qian took out the plan from his pocket and presented it with both hands, "Manager Shen, this is a plan from our second young lady for you."
"She wants to partner with you, Manager Shen, to open a tea shop."
"This plan contains all the details..."
Shen Zhian gave a curious "Oh," and took the proposal. "This sweet girl really has a lot of ideas..."
After saying that, he fell silent, focusing intently on the plan, occasionally letting out a word of praise.
"Great..."
"That's brilliant!!"
"Wonderful! Wonderful! Wonderful!!"
After saying "wonderful" three times, Shen Zhian instructed the steward, "Prepare the carriage immediately, I need to go to Songxi County."
Zhu Qian pointed at the proposal with a puzzled look, "Manager Shen, you haven't finished reading it yet..."
He's only read a third of it.
The real excitement comes in the last two-thirds.
"Let's take our time looking around on the way." Shen Zhian was extremely anxious, wishing he could see Tian Tian immediately and open the shop right away.
Thinking of this, Shen Zhian instructed the steward, "Go and make arrangements to transfer the business of several well-located tea shops in Xiushui County to other tea shops."
"Manager?" The manager was puzzled. What did that mean?
"Clear out a few shops as soon as possible!" Shen Zhian simply instructed.
The manager understood. "Oh, okay, alright."
But what was the point of emptying the shop? He was busy preparing the car and didn't have time to ask.
"Ha ha!!"
"That sweet girl is so clever!!"
"That's brilliant!!"
Shen Zhian was constantly amazed on the way to Songxi County.
He never let go of Tian Tian's business plan.
Even when he was temporarily staying in the wild at night, he would take it out to study.
Upon arriving in Songxi County, Shen Zhian went straight to Baishi Hot Pot Shop.
"Sweet girl."
As soon as Shen Zhian reached the door of the side room, he couldn't help but say, "Sweetie, your plan is excellent."
Hearing his voice from inside, Tian Tian quickly opened the door to the room, "Manager Shen."
"Hey, stop calling me 'shopkeeper,' didn't we agree to call me Uncle Shen?" Shen Zhian waved his hands repeatedly, already inside the house.
“Uncle Shen,” Tian Tian readily agreed.
Rong Yan'er was also there today, "Uncle Shen...?"
Shen Zhian glanced over and exclaimed, "Hey, Yan girl? What are you doing here?"
Tian Tian looked the two of them over, surprised that they actually knew each other.
"I...I." Rong Yan'er thought for a long time before finally laughing awkwardly, "I do business with Miss Tian Er."
Shen Zhian looked at her suspiciously, "You know how to do business?"
Rong Yan'er smiled awkwardly, "I don't know how, but Miss Tian Er does."
She patted her chest. "I provide the shop, she provides the recipe, hehe."
Upon hearing this, Shen Zhian realized that it was just like the tea shop that Tian Tian wanted to collaborate with him on.
However, in addition to providing shops, he can also provide tea.